hot brakes on my trailer

E

elojs

New Member
Can somebody tell me why my trailer brakes get real hot. Can't touch the drums cause they're to hot.the first time I took the boat out I started out ok but then it seemed to get heavyer, harder to pull.I changed brake fluid and bled the brakes but the more I drive the tighter the brakes get.I 'll drive about six or seven blocks then start to smell the brakes getting hot.
So I'll bleed the brakes and everything will be fine for awhile then they start to tighten up again. anybody have any Idias
 
Hi elojs, welcome to the forums.

I gather you have surge brakes?

Are they discs or drums?

-Chris
 
I may have switched the hitch ball because I have three recievers for my boat ,camper trailer and utility trailer.The hitch on my boat is a titan surge type.I wonder if I have a bad master cylinder on the trailer. And by the way I didn't take my boat out at all last year.
 
elojs said:
I may have switched the hitch ball because I have three recievers for my boat ,camper trailer and utility trailer.The hitch on my boat is a titan surge type.I wonder if I have a bad master cylinder on the trailer. And by the way I didn't take my boat out at all last year.
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The reason I asked is most of the time the brakes could be held on because if the reciever is to low on the truck, Then the front of the trailer will sit to low not allowing the trailer brakes to slide back and disingauge the master cylinder on take off espechily after a stop or coming down any type of hill, the boat trailer will try to push the truck and not letting the truck pull the boat. with the trailer off the truck the top of the ball hight should be at 18 inch to 20 inch max from the ground up. Then put the trailer on the truck and step back and look at the level of the boat to the truck it needs to be at least level and if you do any hills then you might want to be a varry small amount higher then level like maybe one inch higher, This way the trailer will be pulled and not pushing. Also keep in mind when coming down any hill after using the truck brakes the trailer brakes will be on and will not let up on a down hill untill you can safely give the truck a little tap on the throttle to release the slide of the trailer brakes so you will not burn them up, Also when you take off from a stop you want to take off kind of fast so it will pull on the trailer brakes to release them, You will want to get used to that felling so you know they are not on after a stop. Now for the trailer you will need to make sure the slide part at the front of the trailer area around the master cylinder area is moving in and out right, Some times they will get stuck in/on, You could try lubing the front up real good with WD-40 or some grease and try working it safely with the truck and maybe blocking the tires and just go back and fourth to see if it is sliding in and out. If all that is fine then the way to know if the master cylinder is working is pull the fluid cap off and try to push the front of the trailer in or how ever you bleed the trailer brakes, But you will want to see if the oil is moving around inside there and it even might spray out a little, if it does then you know the master cylinder is working. They say it works or it don't. Make sure it is clean in side with no rust or water inside the master cylinder. After all that is ok then you could try jacking up the trailer and spin the wheel to see if they seem stuck on or not. Also with drum brakes there is an aujustment on the bottom of the back side of the drum, You would need to remove a rubber cap and use a flat blade driver to move them in or out for aujustment as you spin the wheel lising for a drag to mostly going away, but you want a little bit of drag to start with but not much. Here is too links to look at for trailer stuff. The first one is [UFP] They make most of the trailer parts out there and some where on there web site they use to have a varry detailed trailer brake service manual of how to check the master cylinder and more, But for some reason I can not find it right now. So look it over a little and if you can not find any thing, Then you should call them with you trailer serial number and they will send you a manual by fax or what ever way they can. They are the nices guys to call as a company out there they will work with you till no end. Try to get lyn on the phone at ext #107. here is the first link to ufp. http://www.ufpnet.com/ here is a link I just found while looking it up, And as you can see he has helped other guy's out on the internet. http://bbcboards.zeroforum.com/zerothread/272343 And here is a good place to check if you need to buy any parts for any reason. http://store.pacifictrailers.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog&categoryID=150 well I hope this info helps you out some, Good luck with it and let us know how it turns out.:cheers:
 
Is there a way you can jack up trailer after the brakes start sticking? If the wheels aren't spinning freely, then you'll know they're staying on.

I was thinking you night be able to try to isolate better that way.

I would think it would most likely be the actuator or the brakes not releasing.

Heat can also come from bearing issues as well though. Have you tried having a look at them or repacking them?

-Chris
 
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